This morning I checked my email, looked at two nearly identical
bags of coffee beans and discerned which was caffeinated. I eyed the directions
on a red medicine bottle and then hid a pill in a teaspoon of crunchy peanut
butter for Zito, our spaniel-retriever. Entering the gym, I noticed an ALERT!
No hot water for showers today. That would’ve been a surprise. I’d forgotten my
ear buds, but I read the closed captioned news as I slip-slided away on the
elliptical trainer...

We take literacy for granted.

I could have done most everything above, but it would’ve
required coping. And stress.

Dear Readers,It snowed last night, so I was eager to drive out to Palomino Valley, BLM's largest & most populous (over 1800equines) holding corralsand adoption centerBad news, as always, is that there are so many wild horses in captivity. Good news is that I only glimpsed 2 distressed horses.One was a wrangler's horse and he was walking it for possible colic. The second was a newfoal.

The foal stood alone at the feed stationfor about a minute. Though you can't tell much from this photo, all of the mares in the pen were watching him & me & the other visitors.

Then, the foal came to the fence and checked out visitors to see if they smelled like Mama.

We didn't and the baby made a tiny nicker. At that, many of the mares became even more alert.

According to the timer on my phone, 8 minutes later a truck came back for the baby. Mama mare had been moved to the mare&foal corral first.That corral is in a more sheltered part of the facility. Northern Nevada hasn't had much moisture in the last few weeks, so the horses' footing looked ok. There have been some improvement made to drainage over the years,

I didn't photograph volunteers working with wild horses, but I have a truth to share:

BLM at the highest levelsdoesadisservice to volunteers who gentle equines to make them more adoptable. BLM hauls truckload after truckload of mustangs and burros into this barren confinement.

But the volunteers I saw don't lose heart.

Anyone who's loved an animal knows that sigh (eyes closedor wiiiide open) that tells exactly how you feel. I saw it with a burro buddy and a horse gentler and the affection was returned.

Will their efforts make a difference to all of the homesick horses? No, but it makes a difference for these few and I admire the volunteers for their guts.